


GHOST dog meets its maker, 30 July 2012

by china_shop



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8525014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/china_shop/pseuds/china_shop
Summary: Professor Rodderick Stromboli, aged 74, has the space-time continuum at his command. The New Zealand-born scientist has invented a device that sends Generated Holographic Opticals of Supermodern TimeSpace (GHOSTS) back through time.

Note: I wrote this in 2003, hence the timeframes.





	

Professor Rodderick Stromboli, aged 74, has the space-time continuum at his command. The New Zealand-born scientist has invented a device that sends Generated Holographic Opticals of Supermodern TimeSpace (GHOSTS) back through time. 

"GHOSTS are insubstantial communications," said Stromboli at his press conference in Pahiatua yesterday. "We haven't yet been able to transmit solid matter, but simple holographs -- similar to those captured with a five dollar DHR -- broadcast relatively smoothly. We use feedback loops and sensitive response waves to dampen most of the static."

DigiHoloRecorders (DHRs) were first released over six years ago. Although the basic technology is now widely used in education and video arcades, the commercial market has since moved on to SuperDHRs and, subsequently, VSDHRs (VerySuperDHRs).

Stromboli, a lifelong Buddhist, admitted that the first successful GHOST transmission had shaken his faith in reincarnation. "We had intended to send an image of a woman in mid twentieth century clothing walking down a street. This seemed the least disruptive option. Through an error in my use of the DHR, I mistakenly sent an image of my pet dog, Bobo, who died last year.

"Our targets were fixed on 1964. However, the targeting mechanism is inevitably inexact. That is, it's extremely difficult to pinpoint a destination precisely, since the direction in which time flows exerts a force not dissimilar to gravity. Frankly, it's like trying to land a parachute on a 30 cent piece during a hurricane."

Instead of appearing in 1964, the GHOST dog travelled 20 years further, to materialise in 1944. The GHOST machine allows a low level of feedback from the holograph's display timesite (HDTS) so certain PastTime reactions to the phenomena can be measured and reported. The feedback in this case showed that the sole witness to the apparition was a six year old boy named Roddy.

"Yes, it's very peculiar. I had completely forgotten that at the age of six I saw a ghost. I remember now. It wasn't a scary feeling at all -- indeed, at the time I had a very strong sense of pleasure at the sight. I somehow knew this dog had belonged to me. He was my dog. His name was Bob. We had been together before. 

"I realised at that young age that I must have known the dog in an earlier life. That's when I started researching the theory of reincarnation, which then led to a lifelong practice of meditation and other Buddhist practices."

When asked whether Stromboli would now question his religious beliefs, the Professor laughed. "Not at all. The start of the path is only the first of many steps. But we'll certainly take a bit more care with our transmissions in the future."

Stromboli's dog, Bobo, was a white dalmation/poodle cross. In the Optical that was transmitted, Bobo ran in circles three times barking, then lay down with his head on his front paws. Although this has not yet been verified, GHOST transmissions are believed to be silent from the HDTS perspective.


End file.
